Family Camping and More

When I met James 14 years ago, one of the first things I learned about him was that his family liked to go camping. This weekend we went on our annual family camping trip. They have been going to the same place since 1973! Once I get past the fact that it is a 4 hour drive each way and it means spending 36 straight hours with all of my in-laws, I actually tend to enjoy myself.

It is fun to watch the kids grow and remember the hikes and to hear some of the stories of what James did when he was a kid. It was extremely entertaining this time to watch Brian's dog Alpine dig from here to China trying to get all the little animals buried under the ground. It was even cute to watch Dawson carry around grubs that he dug up from the ground like they were his pet. (Of course I made him wash his hands twice before I would touch him, but it was cute to watch.)

When we come home from camping, we usually go out to dinner because everything is a mess and I am too tired to cook. So, tonight we headed out to dinner. When we pulled in the parking lot, the first thing my son noticed was the sticker of the silhouette of the naked woman on the car next to us. Then when we get out of the car, the truck next to us was blaring, "Porn Star" during the chorus. James and I just looked at each other. After dinner we managed to get behind two drivers in the middle of a road rage moment and Colton asked why they were yelling and waving their middle fingers at each other. So lovely.

The moral of the story for me is, although I may dread the family camping trips sometimes there are things to be learned.
1) Spend time with family when you can because you never know when it will be the last trip.
2) Let boys be boys. Get dirty, get messy and have fun.
3) Living in the woods may not be so bad...it would help me avoid having to explain a LOT!